Electrical connector



ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed Dec. 21, 1956 W v 26 lg 1 5 I H 24 2L 5 3 Fig 2 3-4 22\/ F /'g 3 K INVENTOR.

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United States Patent O ELECTRICAL CGNNECTOR George C. Berticevich, Tiburon, Calif.

Application December 21, 1956, Serial No. 629,941

2 Ciaims. (Cl. 206-51) This invention relates to improvements in electrical connectors and has particular reference to a connector to be inserted between two female sockets.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an operable connector which may be inserted in a line for completing an electrical circuit, yet one which when removed will not permit the reconnecting of the line by an unauthorized person.

A further object of this invention is to produce a device of this character which is shock proof and one which conforms to all of the requirements of underwriters.

A further object is to produce a device which is economical to manufacture and easy to use.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numbers are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a wall socket, my connector and an ordinary female outlet;

Fig. 2 is an expanded view, partly in cross section, showing the relationship between the wall socket, a female socket and my connector; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view, partly in cross section showing the switching mechanism.

Ordinarily in order to connect a piece of equipment such as a power saw, a toaster, an electrical frying pan, or the like, to a source of electrical energy, it is customary to have a plug with a pair of prongs which are inserted in a wall receptacle having female slots into which the prongs extend.

The result of this is that many times, if the plug is pulled out of the socket, an unauthorized person may come along and re-insert the plug into the socket, thus establishing a circuit to the equipment. This may be dangerous in that a fire may be started by the overheated equipment, or a child may become burned or cut or otherwise injured with such equipment as a power saw or the like.

Applicant has therefore provided a connector which has oppositely positioned prongs which may be inserted, for instance in a wall socket and also in an opposed female socket. Then when the equipment is not in use, this connector is entirely removed and stored so that it is impossible for an unauthorized person to make a reconnection.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein for the pur pose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates an ordinary wall type socket and the numeral 6 an ordinary female socket connected to a flexible cable 7. The female socket has the ordinary contacts 8 and 9, while the wall socket has like contacts not shown.

My invention consists of an insulating body member 11 in which is irnbedded a bar 12 which extends beyond the body portion, to form opposed prongs 13 and 14-. A prong member 16 extends into the body member and is spaced from the end of an opposed prong member 17 so that there is no electrical connection therebetween.

A contact bar 18 has ends 19 and 21 lying parallel with the spaced prongs 16 and 17. A spring 22 serves to force apart sliding plugs 23 and 24 which are adapted to impinge upon cam portions A and B respectively or the contact bar, the purpose of which will be later seen.

The result of this construction is that when the prongs 13 and 17, for instance, are inserted in the socket 5, the protruding end 26 of the plug 24 will be shoved into the body 11, causing the same to engage the cam at point B and force the end 19 of bar 18 to engage the prong 17 and when the female socket 6 is shoved onto the prongs 14 and 16, the end 27 and the sliding plug 23 will engage the cam portion A and cause the end 21 of bar 18 to engage the prong 16, thus establishing a circuit from the prong 17 to 9 to complete the electrical circuit to the equipment.

It is of course obvious that the same switching arrangement may be included on both sides of the connector instead of using a continuous bar as shown at 12.

It will thus be seen that my invention accomplishes all of the objects above set forth. It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A connector of the character described comprising a body portion formed of insulating material, prongs carried by said body portion and projecting in opposed alignment from the opposite ends of said body portion, one of said aligned pair of prongs being spaced from the other, and means carried by said body portion for automatically connecting said spaced prongs on opposite ends of said body when each of said spaced prongs are inserted in opposed female sockets.

2. A connector of the character described comprising a body portion formed of insulating material, prongs carried by said body portion and projecting in opposed alignment from the opposite ends of said body portion, one of said aligned pair of prongs being spaced from the other, and means carried by said body portion for automatically connecting said spaced prongs when each of said spaced prongs are inserted in opposed female sockets, said means including a contact bar mounted substantially parallel with said prongs and within said body portion, said bar having cam portions and opposed sliding plugs in alignment with said cam portions, each of said plugs having a portion thereof protruding from said body portion and spring means for normally maintaining said plugs out of contact with said cams.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,021,195 Knaufi Mar. 26, 1912 2,076,136 Weed Apr. 6, 1937 2,188,725 Riggs Jan. 30, 1940 

